What’s on my learning bucket list? Part 1
Sharing an eclectic mix of in-person courses that have sparked my curiosity recently.
The list of courses I'm eager to take is quickly growing. I’ve yet to cross off many skills I mentioned in my bucket list from last year.
There’s so much I want to do and learn, and with the rapid pace of new courses and technologies being introduced (like the 100s of generative AI courses that have popped up in the last 3 months), it’s challenging to keep up.
Bored with the usual process of researching and watching course videos, I decided to create a new bucket list of all the offline courses I’d like to pursue.
There's something about writing down your dreams and goals that makes them feel more real, even if they seem unrealistic. It’s the first step in actually making it happen.
An example of this was the Social Innovation Management course I attended at the Amani Institute in Kenya last year. I'd first heard about it in 2018 via an email newsletter, thinking to myself, "This is fantastic, but the timing isn't right." Well, the stars aligned last year, and with a last-minute application, I found myself headed to Kenya in September.
But why just in-person courses?
Even though I’m deeply involved in online education, I've started to crave different types of learning experiences. While learning online is great and has made upskilling faster and cheaper, I'm starting to miss the real, face-to-face interactions that happen when you learn in-person.
And having worked remotely for more than three years, pursuing in-person courses provides a much-needed break from my computer screen.
A lot of people also ask me if I’d go for a master’s degree. I don’t see the point in it right now, but if I were to, I’d choose from the 2 master’s courses listed in the list below (my views on college education are always evolving, maybe I’ll do a post on that later).
Here we go:
1. MA in Transformative Education - Schumacher College
“This is a postgraduate course designed to train educators, teachers and curriculum designers in the principles of an ecological approach to education.”
And this is right up my alley. 100% aligned with my work and teaches how to reimagine and reshape the current education systems. The low-residency feature, a blend of online and in-person learning, adds flexibility to the learning process. And their campus in Dartington, UK is very beautiful.
Check it out here: https://campus.dartington.org/transformative-education/
2. Bhoomi College - Bangalore
I came across Bhoomi college through this tweet.
I have always been looking for such courses and didn’t realize there was an institute so close to home.
I like their Sankalan Programs, which is a 6 day residential program where “small groups of people engage in sharing stories, and have deep chats about life, emotions, our connection with nature, the world etc.”
“The Sankalan Programmes will help you become a facilitator to foster learning and wellbeing in groups, class rooms, organisations and communities.”
I’m sold.
Read more about Bhoomi: https://bhoomicollege.org/short-programmes
3. Building a better world - Dharmalaya
Located in the lush himalayan foothills, Dharmalaya Institute’s mission is to unite traditional wisdom with creative innovation via sustainable and compassionate living.
They offer courses in Design & Architecture, Natural Building, Organic Food Growing and more.
I want to explore their Building a Better World series. And also their education for compassionate living courses. Though most of these programs are quite time intensive so I might start with one of their short week long retreats.
I think you may be noticing a pattern in my course choices? A focus on ecology and mindful living, campuses that are aesthetic. If I'm to opt for an in-person course, I may as well choose a setting that resonates with nature and offers a learning experience that's hard to replicate online.
4. Align Leadership Program - Mountains and Marathon
Imagine climbing a mountain and learning leadership skills along the way. I think this is a great idea for a business and something that I would really want to be a part of as facilitator.
Their Align Leadership Program is 6 months long, which is a combination of leadership, fitness and nutrition coaching and ends with an international retreat where you run a marathon or climb a mountain. Their next group is climbing Kilimanjaro next month, how exciting.
5. Unschool fellowship
Unschool is all about systems thinking and sustainability. I had an eye out for their fellowships but seems like they don’t run it any more. I’m still on the lookout for their workshops and short bootcamps.
https://www.unschools.co/fellowships
6. MSc in Education Futures - The University of Edinburgh
While I have no interest in studying at a traditional university again, this course stood out to me as it’s relevant to my work and interests.
“This MSc is a bold new programme for those who wish to engage critically with educational possibilities for the future, and understand how educational knowledge, organisations, spaces and relationships can positively shape societies.”
This program is a part of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, and I like most of their courses.
Skills Based Courses
7. 200-hour yoga TTC - Rishikesh or Goa
I love how yoga teacher training course are structured. They teach you all about yoga and also how to teach it others. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach others, right?
While I’m already 200-hour teacher training certified, it was done online during the lockdowns in 2020. I learnt a lot but it was nothing compared to some in-person yoga classes I’ve taken so I’m keen to give it another try.
8. Skiing course at IISM, Gulmarg or NIM, Uttarkashi
I did a one-day skiing course in New Zealand. I sucked at it and bumped into kids all day. I was envious of others skiing smoothly from the top of the mountain while I didn’t move up the first stage. This is something I’m keen to try once again. There are many institutes in India that offer 15 day courses and they’re very affordable.
Explore more:
https://www.iismgulmarg.in/
https://www.nimindia.net/skiing-course
These institutes also have a Basic Mountaineering course which looks great. It’s for 28 days and usually booked out years in advance. I’m not gonna put that in my list yet, better off doing day hikes for now.
9. Barista Course - Anywhere
Back in 2018, when I was working in a cafe in Sydney, I passed up an opportunity to take a barista course. I also regret my overindulgence in banana bread and hot chocolate but that’s a story for another day.
The cafe offered the perfect platform to hone barista skills, and trained experts were readily available o help me out for free.
I love coffee and just for fun, I’d like to do a professional barista course one day (well maybe not just for fun, I want to make delicious coffee myself and my friends, that’s a better justification).
And that’s all, folks. The list is always growing. In the next issue, I’ll give you peek into my roster of online courses.
If you don’t have a similar list already, I encourage you to start making one.
In the meantime, I'm curious - what courses are you currently doing? Do you have any interesting ones on your radar?
I'd love to hear about them or answer questions related to learning online or in-person. Just hit reply.
See you next month,
Ayush